


2 AM

by Smol_Stressed_Bunny



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Ben Solo just wants a break and to sleep, Drinking, Drunk Rey (Star Wars), F/M, Flirting, Force Bond (Star Wars), Kinda, Mutual Pining, Post-Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Renperor, Supreme Leader Kylo Ren, Touch-Starved, drunk people are ridiculous and it's no exception here, preferably with Rey
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-11
Updated: 2019-11-11
Packaged: 2021-01-27 15:16:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,286
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21394309
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Smol_Stressed_Bunny/pseuds/Smol_Stressed_Bunny
Summary: *If she watched closely and really focussed, she could pick people out just to observe for a minute. They were pleasant to watch from a distance. She watched as one man held a girl’s and danced with one another, and a set of total strangers happy to dance together, people laughing, and singing poorly.But it surprised her to see a man in the center of it all, standing untouched and still with his head turned away from her.“Ben?” She called out, not loud enough to be heard by anyone, but Ben did. She saw him immediately unclasp his hands and his head jerked to find her ahead. Had she still had her rational mind, she could have quickly thought up a lie before she jumped out of her seat and sped into the chaos that was this bar’s crowd. *Months after not seeing each other, at the ends of two days, Rey and Ben Solo have found each other. If only Rey wasn't drunk and Kylo Ren wasn't hosting a fundraiser in front of many, many First Order politicians.
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 6
Kudos: 56





	2 AM

**Author's Note:**

  * For [goodgirlstheyliketosin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/goodgirlstheyliketosin/gifts).

> "But I miss screaming and fighting and kissing in the rain. It's 2 am and I'm cursing your name." - Taylor Swift's The Way I Loved You
> 
> "2 am, here we are. See your face, hear my voice in the dark." Taylor Swift's I Wish You Would  
(I could go through all of Taylor's 2AM mentions but that'd take a while lol)
> 
> For goodgirlstheyliketosin, who is the closest earth gets to an angel

When Rey arrived at the bar, she couldn’t say that she was at all expecting what she saw, but Poe and Finn assured her this was definitely a _normal _bar and there were plenty more just like it. Rey wasn’t completely convinced. “It has neon strobe lights... right up front.” She gestured toward the overhead sign above the entrance.

Rey could hear the quickened footsteps of Rose catching up with the group behind her. “Honestly, this is more of a club. Poe is just ridiculous, if anything,” Rose said, smiling.

Begrudgingly, Rey followed behind her friends. She knew that Poe and Finn started taking notice of her feeling disconnected. lately, she’d been throwing herself in any mission that would take her. When it wouldn’t, she would convince them otherwise.

* * *

There was a strange and juvenile thought, creeping and unwanted, that had been passing in his head for these past months of his reign. He wondered how his mother ever did this for the Rebels and the Resistance. Underneath this, another reluctant thought took hold: Despite the fact that he didn't want this, how could he ever do the same?

The son of a Princess, Rebel, and General, and look at him now.

Ben’s mask was an intimidating one, now that all the usual grooves in the smooth surface of his mask had been replaced as angry crimson streaks, making it obvious that he had crushed it to pieces and dented in fractures.

The last thing in the galaxy that Ben wanted to do was publicly socialize with politicians, but as Supreme Leader it was expected of him. So, he stood taller than he felt and walked with pride he didn’t truly hold, as every man and woman bowed before him. Yet, he didn’t feel a thing for them at all.

* * *

“What the hell is this place?” Rey asked, unable to mask the confusion in her voice. The club in its entirety looked like one crowd holding dozens of people. While It was beautiful in its own way, it was concerning in another.

The closer they got to the bar the louder the music surrounding them became. It surprised Rey that she could hear Rose whisper “Wow...” to no one in particular.

“You’ve never been here before?” Poe asked Rey, turning beside her to meet her eyes in the pink lighting. His voice rose the more they walked. “I think it might be one of the most popular places on the planet. I’ve only been here once, but I thought, because of our accomplishment today, we earned it.”

Finn was ahead of them, but began walking backwards to talk to both her and Rose. “I know it looks terrible at first but it’s a lot of fun, I promise,” He was shouting over the singing crowd.

“That’s very comforting for somebody walking backwards and yelling,” Rose responded.

Once they sat at the bar and all drank a while, Rey relaxed and even grew excited when different songs they all recognized would play. And Rey, who was feeling more and more pleased to be somewhere as odd as this, could find amusement in the crowded dance floor.

After they had all had a few drinks and even more laughs and passed around stories, They were ready to leave. Rey certainly wouldn’t resist, she was spent and her mind was somewhere else.

For example, she realized that if she watched closely and _really_ focussed, she could pick people out just to observe for a minute. They were pleasant to watch from a distance. She watched as one man held a girl’s and danced with one another, and a set of total strangers happy to dance together, people laughing, and singing poorly.

But it surprised her to see a man in the center of it all, standing untouched and still with his head turned away from her.

“Ben?” She called out, not loud enough to be heard by anyone, but Ben did. She saw him immediately unclasp his hands and his head jerked to find her ahead. Had she still had her rational mind, she could have quickly thought up a lie before she jumped out of her seat and sped into the chaos that was this bar’s crowd.

* * *

Being surrounded the rich, proud, and chatty was never ideal, being their conversation piece was a brand of irritation he hadn’t been accustomed to. Ben knew he hadn’t been at the fundraiser for an hour, but he couldn’t stop himself from looking at the clock every chance he got. He even made a point of checking the time in the middle of conversations.

Ben walked the room to seem more available, because only when everyone got their word in, would they donate and be on their way. He contained his own pathetic urge to groan or sigh as he made his way through the crowd, doing his best not to touch anyone.

When he first found a balcony to escape, it looked just as crowded as the ballroom behind him. There were couples, men trying to entertain, women drinking together, but that all stopped when he stepped onto the balcony.

Heads turned and conversations stopped to quickly clear out of his way. He could feel their eyes locked on his back, so he turned to face them, which sent them off in a hurry.

Ben wanted to take his mask off just for the sake of wiping the sweat off his head, but kept his composure steady, and was thinking up a plan where next fundraiser, he wouldn’t have to play a role this heavy.

It was, at least, a good way to keep his mind off ideas of fleeing and possibly-

“Ben?”

He jolted. It was Rey, she was slouching at a corner of a bar with her head resting on her hand. He felt his heart begin to race within an instant. Rey’s eyes were wide, which didn’t quite pair with the rest of her relaxed demeanor. There was a slow rise in her chest just before she jumped from her stool in pursuit.

Ben tried to keep his eyes pinned on her, but just as quickly as she was there, she was gone. Lost in the crowd of rich benefactors. And just as she leapt up to find him, Ben stalked forward, moving through everyone around him.

Some men wore silken shirts that were buttoned too high, while some women wore gowns with thick sleeves that fell low passed their shoulders, many had jewels decorating their bodies, a few had stylish canes-

He heard a rapid halt of shoes against the floor, a woman tripping over and falling and felt cold champagne spill onto his tunic, quickly soaking through to his skin.

“Shi- Sorry. I’m so sorry.” She looked wide-eyed at him, her gaze shifting between his mask and her emptied glass, while Ben rushed backwards. “Apologies, I didn’t see you there,”

He was ready to rush off without another word, but because it was, in fact, his fault, Ben held up his hand. “It was a mistake. Forget it.” He was able to finally look at her then. Her dress was white and covered with golden threading, and her hair blonde. It was odd, he couldn’t quite figure out if she really had been drinking or not.

“Oh, wait!” She raised her hands out to him like she was holding him back from proceeding, but seemed to realize she’d shouted, and a bit of embarrassment showed through once again. Scanning the room, her eyes instantly caught onto a waiter serving drinks by a tray.

Ben watched as the woman called out for the waiter but it went unheard, as he was being called in other directions and most likely had been for the better half of the evening. She looked him over once more before making her way towards the man.

“Waiter,” Ben called out before she could manage. With the further destruction of the voice modulator, his voice stood out as a stark contrast to everyone else’s.

The waiter immediately stopped in his tracks, a foot away from her and continued to hold as still as a statue while the woman retrieved a handkerchief off his person. “Thank you, sir.” She nodded to the waiter. Careful on her heels, she turned back with the handkerchief held out to Ben.

As he took it from her, he could hear the beginnings of a _thank you_, and abruptly cut her off. “I’ve never seen you before,” The way he spoke made it sound as though it were a question. Though, he would of course, be needing this answer.

“Oh, well, I am new to this. I’m Connix.” She held out her hand. He didn’t take it. “Kaydel Ko Connix.”

* * *

One more wrong move away from kicking a few men down to the floor, Rey settled for throwing her elbow into the ribs of a man knocking her off balance. Rey looked up to him, eyes slow but sharp enough. “Seems like a whole lot a’ pain for a bit of dancing,” She faintly heard someone yell back at her, but she ignored it. She heard a punch get thrown which stirred more shouting and crowding around, but she's always found bar fights are easy to ignore.

In the same instant, Rey finally found a sign that the bond hadn’t closed. “Waiter,” She heard him call out. She felt all excitement bubble up in her chest. In a smooth turn-around, She saw Ben right in front of her. His back faced her.

She thought about sneaking up behind him—jumping by him to freak him out just because it would be funny. (She would have been the only one laughing, but it’d be worth it.) But just as soon as Rey stepped forward, Ben spoke again. “I’ve never seen you before,”

Wait. Light on her feet, Rey stilled. Staring at Ben’s frame, waiting for her suspicion to be proven. She wasn’t even sure why she felt the need to wait; she knew what to expect.

“Oh, well, I’m new to this. I’m Connix. Kaydel Ko Connix.”

_Oops_.

Her brows furrowed together, but she stayed where she was, expectant.

Meanwhile, the two carried on. “I haven’t even really gotten my teeth into anything,” Kaydel laughed nervously as she wrapped an arm around her waist.

Rey’s gaze instantly snapped to Ben again as soon as the words left Kaydel’s mouth. The music grew louder for a landing beat, she could feel the vibrations through her shoes. Could he, she wondered? _Do not take that bait, don’t take that bait--_

“Oh, well, you will,”

She blinked, and her arms fell back down to her sides. “Oi, Ben,” Rey said with false cheer, sidestepping Ben’s large frame. “What the hell?”

Rey watched as his entire back tensed. She knew this was surprising, but she didn't quite care at the moment. She caught a glimpse of Ben’s hands, which were so often tensed to a fist, go slack.

Through his mask and through their bond, She felt his eyes on her. But mostly, she heard Kaydel’s pleasant laugh at hearing his comment, and Rey had locked onto where Kaydel would stand, and any remaining semblance of sobriety she held left as she abruptly threw her hands up with comical bravado. “Gods! _Stop_ staring at him!”

“Alright,” He blurted out faster than he ushered Kaydel away. Another one of the many (and surely not the last) surprises she’d witnessed that night happened to be Ben, in a very un-supreme-like performance, signaling to Kaydel with a nod and saying, “Look, there’s General Hux.”

Then proceeded to walk away.

Without thought, Rey followed him. Taking sips of the bright drink in her hand--_when did she have a drink on her?_

Without thought, Rey followed him. “You dog. Do you always move on so quickly?”

Ben was walking backwards towards a hallway that had been closed off to guests. But hearing her words, behind his mask, his face fell. Low, he spoke. “I haven’t. I didn’t.”

She blinked, confusion etching into her features. Something in the way he spoke, more of an admittance than a defensive reaction, helped her feel she could believe him. 

“Okay,” She replied, and was surprised to hear her voice so steady and even. After a beat, Ben crossed his arms and casually leaned his shoulder against a wall.

Rey apparently found that amusing and mimicked the action perfectly. The colorful lights were dancing all along her, turning her white clothes to pink and blue, and back again.

They weren’t more than a foot apart now.

“So what are you doin’? Your suit is fancier than usual. You’re doing something weird, right?”

“It’s a fundraiser,” he had expected they would continue talking, and expected this question, but he didn’t expect her to be so at peace. Maybe she was over the thing with Kaydel.

“Oh.” She said, swiping a boot around the other. “That shines some light on the new suit, and why you looked so bored and lonely when I saw you, and why you were flirting with whatshername,” She said, dragging out each word as if she were exhausted.

_Then again..._ He could have scoffed. “‘Whatshername’? You’re, of course, referring to your spy?”

Her eyes flashed wide just before she stitched her brows together. She opened her mouth to say something, but quickly shut it.

“She is good at her job, I’ll give her that,” Ben added, and he wondered if she somehow knew he almost laughed underneath the mask.

Keeping her eyes on him, she smiled into her cup. “Fine.” In one fluid motion, using her foot, she pushed herself off the wall and moved in front of Ben. “How did you know?”

“She needed to appear vulnerable, so she threw herself into an awkward situation, and tried to distract me with talking. She even got me to help her out of the situation. It was all good planing.”

She rolled her eyes at that, but without malice. Rey wanted to be cross with him, but it was hopeless for now. Not to mention how entertaining it was feeling Ben’s confusion with her for it.

“Still, you never answered my question, but right now I have other things to talk about before I leave,” There was a slight drunken laziness in her speech, Ben noticed. He was grateful—embarrassed as he was—that she let the subject go. “Such as?”

“Like,” She finally let her gaze fall away from his visor and instead she looked to her glass. “Well, fuckin'-- whose... drink is this? This is not mine. Did I steal this?” She asked.

Ben laughed, a genuine laugh that he couldn’t contain, and Rey absolutely took notice of. She was looking at him with both shock and pride. Pointing at him, slowly she whispered, “I made you laugh,”

Her eyes were wide and her voice was so sweet, all he could think to do was dodge. “I do know how you got your drink, but I like your version better,”

“Gods, is this safe?” She held the drink out to her side.

“It is,”

“Why couldn’t you have laughed when I was sober?” She was still wide-eyed and grinning up at him.

“That’s enough,” He said, trying to affect a neutral tone, though she continued to laugh at him.

"No, I fucking made you laugh!" Her hand flew to her chest, as if doing so would settle her.

"Alright," He was smiling still, certain Rey could tell, even as drunk as she was. She crouched down, still laughing, and placed her drink on the floor while muttering something about her drink being poison. “Okay, okay,” She said, before looking up at him.

The cape was gone now. Instead, he wore a shawl with red lining much like his mask.

“I do like your suit,” She said, before rising back up to her feet. The music seemed to grow louder on Rey’s side.

She must have thought she was being more subtle than she was—Or maybe she just had some extra courage—when she tilted her chin upwards.

Not knowing what to think, except of all things, he really wished he hadn’t worn his mask tonight, he cleared his throat. “I like yours too,” He spoke softly.

“But I’m not liking the mask,”

From the corner of his eye, he saw her begin to extend her hand out to his mask.

But quickly, someone came speeding by the hallway, promptly interrupting. It startled even Ben, practically flinching in an upright position, as though he were a child told to stand up straight.

The man continued down the hallway until he stepped into the lighting and revealed himself as a waiter. The same server from earlier.

Ben had completely forgotten that this particular hallway was still open to staff. Just one server with an empty tray, pulling his tie loose. Ben kept his eyes on him all the same, relaxing his shoulders when he made it to the end of the hallway.

The hall had gone quiet, even Rey’s music went quiet, which served to help him think. Biting down, hard, on the inside if his cheek, he brought his hands to his helmet and unlatched it. It was nice having his peripheral vision back, he’d admit.

“Remember, we can’t touch. Someone might catch us, and we still don’t know if it’s only the force sensitive who can see.” Though, Rey would be in plenty more trouble than Ben, were she seen with him.

Rey still hadn't responded, and it made him feel twice as vulnerable. He looked down to his feet, shifting uncomfortably into the wall. He was beginning to feel like time was crawling by just as a show of cruelty.

Beside him, he heard Rey’s shoes scrape together. Before he could turn his head to her, a body rushed into his chest. It was so sudden, he wasn’t even aware it was a hug until he felt arms snaking around his back.

Ben wasn’t sure what to do. He hadn’t felt this much physical affection in years. The confusion alone was overwhelming.

But an unknown tension within him broke as Rey further sunk her weight into his body, resting her cheek by Ben's neck. He really wasn't sure what he was thinking, all he understood was his own sickening longing. He understood how satisfying and completely relieving it was when he carefully wrapped his arms around her.

It was so much warmer than he remembered. For no more than a second, he almost let his chin laze down on the top of her head, but he stopped himself in time to feel her back away from the embrace. Her eyes were red and glossy. "I missed you, Ben,"

"You're tired," He responded. "What time is where you are?"

Rey looked at him curiously, brows furrowed. "Uh..." She turned to the left and right, then spun around to set her eyes on a space he couldn't see. "2 AM,"

Ben merely hummed in response, relief washing over as he watched more staff leaving through the hall. Finally. "Its officially 12 o' clock here," He brought his gaze back. Rey's face was partially hidden from his view while she undid the ties in her hair. He cleared his throat as he tried to force himself out of his head. Out of both their heads. "In order to weed out guests, I had any staff leave by 12 AM. Without drinks, no one cares to stay." He mumbled, more guests leaving could be heard on the other side of the wall.

"That’s only a two-hour time difference, Ben," Rey remarked, turning to face him again as close as ever.

She leaned her head in just above his shoulder. So close to an embrace, yet they never touched. The way she smiled and breathed him in, felt so close to a kiss.

“What happens to you when they’re gone?”

“I go to my quarters, just like the rest of the crew.”

“Well,” Rey internally stumbled on the thought, and it showed on the outside. For the first time tonight, she seemed shy. Scratching the back on her neck, she forced herself to hold his gaze. Why was whatever she wanted to say making her... so bashful? “You wanna come to mine?”

The words left her mouth, and there was a twisting in chest.

* * *

“Hey,” Poe drunkenly tapped at Rose’s shoulder until he got a response. “Y’think it’s weird that I want this guy’s fingers in my mouth?” Poe pointed toward the bar where two men behind the counter, serving out drinks.

Without missing a beat, Rose asked, “Which guy is that, shorter one or the ginger?”

“The ginger,”

“Yeah, that’s weird.” Rose turned back to Finn, who had been searching for Rey in the crowd. This was the last time Rose would ever be their designated driver. “Catch her yet?”

“_Yuuuuup_,” He said simply while pointing out a far off secluded wall by the entrance. Rey was smirking to herself, a bit too mischievously.

Poe held his hands to his eyes like binoculars in Rey’s direction. “Did you see her almost knock a guy out for bumping her?” He asked, letting out a stream of high-pitched giggles. “Cracks me up,”

Finn was lounging so deeply against the bar he was almost slipping out of his seat. “Some guy asked her to hold his drink for a minute, and then she walked away with it,” He said, far too casually.

Rose’s eyes went wide. “What?”

Alarmed, Poe's arm slipped off the corner of the bar. “What? You saw that and didn’t stop her? She definitely shouldn’t be drinking that, man.” Poe turned to leave his stool, and Rose followed.

“It’s good. I saw him order it from the bar. No tampering; It’s clean. But the man had to pee, and couldn’t leave his drink, so he saw Rey and asked her to hold it.” Finn started with the giggling now. Clearly, he'd been fighting to hold it in while explaining. He infectiously set off Poe again, even Rose settled in with them.

Seconds later, they all made their way to Rey and left without a word of protest.

* * *

Rose got everyone back to the Resistance base safely. Rey shared some absurdly long goodbyes with her friends, and went to her quarters. “_Shit_, I haven’t been this wrecked since I was a teenager,” Rey mumbled to herself before kicking off her boots. 

She sighed, a little too deeply, and slid on her bed. As she kicked feet up, there was a warm and foreign weight settled at her side.

“Ben!” Rey shot upright, only to find Ben looking startled by her jump. “You made it,”

“I told you I would,”

“You did,"

“I still don’t know exactly how this works,” He gestured vaguely, but she knew he was referring to the bond. Scooting back, he inched toward the edge before looking her in the eyes. “I don’t know how long I’ll be here, or when you’ll disappear, so I would just lie back down,”

She did. She turned onto her side, facing him, and tucked her hands under her chin, having no problem with the vulnerability as of late.

Ben laid down then, stiff on his back. With his head by with her ankles and Rey watching him, resting on her side, they looked almost _normal_. For a quiet, domestic moment, Ben and Rey were blissful.

Of course, the first time they’d seen each other in months, Rey had to be drunk and Ben had to be in the public eye.

He broke the gaze then, and the silence, as well.

“These past few months, I’ve realized I can’t run the Order. Tonight, I decided that I need to be moving on, and I couldn’t. I’ve tried and struggled. I was going to move on tonight. And when your Resistance spy ran into me, I didn’t care enough to move on from the past, and then I felt you behind me.” Ben let a smirk sneak up on his face and grow wide.

“I couldn’t help it, getting a rise out of you like that,” He laid his hand on his face. Not for the first time tonight, he felt laughter rising in his chest. He didn’t remember the last time he laughed so genuinely before tonight. He began to smile up at the ceiling, the corners of his eyes crinkling up as he recalled the image of Rey in that moment. “I would have hated to watch you leave,” Ben brought his head back to see Rey.

A small puff of an _amused_ laugh could be heard from her. There, he returned the favor. Though, it was too dark to see her entirely, there were still traces of her frame. Her hair, only illuminated by moonlight from her window, along with the side her face, her arms, her hands as she moved her hair from her neck.

Rey held his gaze for a moment longer, looking both puzzled yet contented with his speech. Nodding, she nestled her head on her arm before closing her eyes and curling up closer. “You know, you really are your mother’s son,”

He sighed again, and for the first time tonight, it wasn't pained or impatient. In fact, he felt relieved.

Rey yawned suddenly, and as she did, she stretched out her hand and let it rest on his leg. Her fingers gently curled, and her hands felt cold. Had he ever been so happy?

“Night,” She said, barely a whisper.

Hesitantly and with more care than he’d probably taken in years, his fingertips reached for her ankle--which was also cold--and held her.

“Goodnight, Rey.”


End file.
